Extending opportunities for life-long learning in a digital age

1. Extending opportunities for life-long learning in a digital age Institutional approaches to mainstreaming new flexible and cost-effective practices and technologies • Peter Chatterton • Eta De Cicco • Neil Whitt • Andrew Comrie

2. Workshop format The University of Plymouth Colleges regional partnership of Further Education College’s PINEAPPLE project adopts technology solutions to make the APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) process more efficient and cost-effective (Neil Whitt) The workshop will explore how institutions are meeting the needs of lifelong learners by developing and mainstreaming cost-effective, scalable and efficient new practices and technologies. Case study 1 Exploring APEL Objectives & “ice-breaker” Overview of JISC Guide Plenary Feedback from Groups JISC Guide resources Case study 2 Building Partnerships • Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh’s Telford College have worked in partnership with Edinburgh City Council to design and deliver a new suite of programmes that provide seamless articulation pathways and alternative work-based routes to degree study where technology is used extensively to provide cost-effective and flexible delivery (Andrew Comrie) Short presentations + Discussions on issues and implications for developing and mainstreaming new practices and technologies in different institutional contexts

3. Ice-breaker Identify your top challenges: ….associated with implementing new practices and technologies for Lifelong Learning (including work-based learning): • Institutional • Programme design & delivery • Staff / cultural • Student / employer • Technology

4. New JISC Guide Learning in a Digital Age Extending higher education opportunities for Lifelong Learning • Explores how institutions are developing and mainstreaming new lifelong learning practices and the technologies they are using. • Support for lifelong learners • Responsive curricula design • Flexible curriculum delivery • Assessment, feedback and accreditation • Stakeholder engagement and sustainable partnerships • + 11 case studies Forms part of the successful Effective Practice series.

5. Table summary Some learners, particularly non-mainstream learners, may experience difficulties managing the social and academic aspects of HE Support for lifelong learners Learners can lack a sense of belonging to an HE community within an FE environment More responsive curriculum development depends on participation from those individuals that have a stake in the outcome Responsive curriculum design The absence of shared vocabulary and employers’ unfamiliarity with HE level descriptors can form barriers to sustainable employer-centred provision

6. Table summary University admissions and other support processes cannot always adapt rapidly to the needs of diverse learners Flexible curriculum delivery Employers and learners want smaller and shorter learning experiences Not all learners perceive their interactions with HE as a holistic experience The need to capture staff CPD activities in a manner that respects the concept of the reflective practitioner whilst meeting the requirements of an award Assessment, feedback and accreditation Finding ways of embedding feedback activities in the online delivery of learning to remote learners Mainstream application processes do not easily recognise and accredit the prior experiences of non-traditional learners

7. Table summary A lack of standardisation of terminology to describe data, across key stakeholders such as information providers can prevent effective re-use and blending of data from different sources Stakeholder engagement and sustainable partnerships Difficulties for course teams and careers guidance and information professionals to access accurate, at-a-glance labour market information Provision of work-based programmes depends on collaborative partnership working

8. Workshop format The University of Plymouth Colleges regional partnership of Further Education College’s PINEAPPLE project adopts technology solutions to make the APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) process more efficient and cost-effective (Neil Whitt) The workshop will explore how institutions are meeting the needs of lifelong learners by developing and mainstreaming cost-effective, scalable and efficient new practices and technologies. Case study 1 Exploring APEL Objectives & “ice-breaker” Overview of JISC Guide Plenary Feedback from Groups JISC Guide resources Case study 2 Building Partnerships • Edinburgh Napier University and Edinburgh’s Telford College have worked in partnership with Edinburgh City Council to design and deliver a new suite of programmes that provide seamless articulation pathways and alternative work-based routes to degree study where technology is used extensively to provide cost-effective and flexible delivery (Andrew Comrie) Short presentations + Discussions on issues and implications for developing and mainstreaming new practices and technologies in different institutional contexts

9. Online resources Learning in a Digital Age Extending higher education opportunities for Lifelong Learning http://www.jisc.ac.uk/digilifelong Online supplementary resources http://www.jisc.ac.uk/digilifelongresources Work-based learning maturity toolkit http://tinyurl.com/wbl-toolkit